11/03/2012

Our first stop was our usual stop at Lake Tyrrell just off the Calder Hwy north of Sea Lake to look for Orange Chats. By the time we arrived it was the middle of a warm sunny day and it appeared most sensible birds where keeping out of sight in the low lying saltbush. After about 45 minutes of looking we returned to an area which we had found to be productive on previous visits. After a short while White-winged Fairy-wren appeared including a partially coloured male, not long after a Rufous Fieldwren appeared. Chats were heard calling but they were White-fronted Chats. Walking around in the open sun didn't feel like much fun any more so we climbed back in the car and headed for our overnight stop at Ouyen. Four kilometers before we reached Ouyen Paul noticed a small Kingfisher on the power lines, after doing a U turn we found a pair of Red-backed Kingfisher perched on the power lines, then not far down the road there was another pair.

Lake Tyrell Trip List

12/03/2012

The plan for today was to head for the Murray Sunset National Park Shearers Quarters camp, stopping for a visit at the Yarrara Flora and Fauna Reserve on route. We couldn't resist a quick drive through Hattah Kulkyne on the way. We headed into the park along the Old Calder Hwy and had just entered the park when a flock of Regent Parrot flew overhead.

We stopped for a break in the Hattah campground hoping the campground Apostle birds would find us but no luck. While waiting we were amazed by hundreds of Pelicans wheeling about over the Hattah lake. We headed back to the hwy via the Konardin and Norwingi Tracks and onto Yarrara Flora and Fauna reserve.

When arriving at Yarrara we came across a small flock of Black-faced Woodswallow on the eastern edge of the reserve, otherwise it was fairly quiet. We took a track heading into the centre of the reserve and stopped to look at a flock of birds in a likely place and saw Thornbills and Southern Whiteface. After about 20 minutes of searching we heard then saw a pair of White-browed Treecreeper. A Gilberts Whistler was calling and we were able to track it down on the opposite side of the track. Returning to the car we decided to have one last look and found a Striped Honeyeater which was quickly chased of by a Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater.

We passed through the Shearers Quarters campground in the afternoon which looked inviting with quite a bit of bird activity around but we decided to head onto a small camp on Pheenys Track. The Pheenys Track campsite is an intimate camp set amongst the Mallee. It was very quiet but unfortunately the birds were quiet too. We did get a quick glimpse of a Shy Heathwren on the other side of the track before sunset and plenty others could be heard calling.

Hattah-Kulkyne National Park Trip List
Yarrara Flora and Fauna Nature Reserve Trip List
Pheenys Track Camp Trip List

13/03/2012

The next morning Paul made an early morning dawn chorus recording. After breakfast we went to find out what was making the high pitched calls coming from the hillside nearby and eventually saw a pair of Chestnut Quail-thrush. While looking we also saw a Gilberts Whistler. Listening to the recording later on we found the recording contains an unusual call which might be a Malleefowl and also Scrub-robin calling.

Later in the day we drove along South Bore track stopping to look in places where there were flocks of birds. In the area we saw Crested Bellbird, White-fronted Honeyeater, Black-eared Cuckoo, Jacky Winter and Hooded Robin.

Next stop was Murrayville to stock up on supplies before heading for our campsite for the night at Pink Lakes. It was a beautiful evening with a lovely sunset and we were able to get a closer look at some of the mallee parrots as they foraged in the saltbush on the edge of the lake. We were also treated to a brief fly over by a couple of Pink Cockatoos.

Murray-Sunset Nat Park Millawa Sth Bore 10' Cell Trip List
Murray-Sunset Nat Park Millawa Sth Bore 10' Cell Trip List

14/03/2012

The following morning we went out to look for Striated Grasswren in the mallee adjacent to Pioneer Drive. We parked the car next to an unlikely spot with the intention of walking back to a nicer patch of spinifex, however on investigating bird calls nearby we almost immediately spotted grasswren scurrying off. We approached and had pretty good views of them moving from one spinifex clump to another for about five minutes. Just as we were about to move on we saw what looked like another grasswren a short distance away but this turned out to be a Mallee Emu-wren. We then had a few good looks at a female before she hopped out of sight. So nice to have found these birds easily without having to spend hours stomping through the spinifex.

Later we stopped at Underbool to buy drinks from the takeaway food shop. After leaving the shop I glanced upwards at Welcome Swallow circling above the main street only to realise their wings were way too long for swallows and that they were Fork-tailed Swifts. There were about 30 circling low enough for us to clearly see their markings without binoculars.

By this time it was very hot so the rest of the day was spent taking a scenic drive around the Wirrengren Plain in Wyperfeld and then along the sandy tracks from North to South Wyperfeld onto Wonga Campground. When entering Wyperfeld from the north we stopped to let the tyres down and saw Chestnut Quail-thrush foraging along the track in front of us.

Murray-Sunset National Park - Pink Lakes

15/03/2012

In the morning we went looking Redthroat and Southern Scrub-robin along the Discovery Walk. We first heard Redthroat in the heathland before reaching Devils Pools and got a brief look at one flying off into the distance. Then not long after a great view of a male in full song sitting at the top of a small tree. No luck with the scrub robin though, we thought we heard one calling briefly but could not track it down. There was still water left in the Devil's Pools and this was attracting the birds. There was a small group of Emu and a variety of parrots drinking from the pools and two Fork-tailed Swifts were circling overhead.

Back in the campground at lunch time it was very hot and humid so we decided to leave Wyperfeld and head down to the Nhill and the Little Desert. We spent the afternoon driving along some very interesting deep sand on the western side of Lake Albacutya along Purra Track. Then spent the night in a Nhill motel, not very exciting but nice to have aircon and a TV for a change.

Wyperfeld National Park Trip List
Wyperfeld National Park (Discovery Track) Trip List

16/03/2012

We visited Glenlee Flora and Fauna Reserve the next morning and took a nice walk from the bird hide and saw a couple of Hooded Robins and also flushed a few Stubble Quail driving along the northern edge of the park.

After this we checked into the Little Desert Nature Lodge and were informed there were currently flocks of Blue-winged and Elegant Parrots near the junction of the Nhill Harrow Road and an unnamed track opposite Dahlenbergs track. Also a Malleefowl had been seen on the Keith Hately Nature Walk.

After relaxing for a while we roused ourselves to do a bit more bird watching and went to check out Merrits Bushland reserve, a small reserve in the middle of a patch of farmland on the Nhill Harrow Road. We were hoping to find Elegant Parrot here but instead there were lots of New Holland Honeyeaters. While searching for parrots we flushed a huge flock of 60 or more Brown Quail from the grassy corners of the reserve. Other interesting birds were Restless Flycatcher and Tawny-crowed Honeyeater.

Glenlee10' Cell Trip List
Merrits Reserve Trip List

17/03/2012

Next morning we checked out the site just off the Nhill Harrow Road for Elegant Parrots. Almost as soon as we turned off the Nhill Harrow Rd into the unnamed track opposite Dahlenbergs Track we saw small parrots resting on the fence of the adjacent farmland. We stopped the car a little further up near to a small patch of woodland and soon started seeing many Blue-winged and Elegant Parrots. It was very difficult to differentiate the parrots as they mostly appeared to be immature and lacked the distinctive facial markings. While watching a Spotted Harrier flew low over our heads.

Afterwards we visited Red Gum Swamp hoping to see a Southern Scrub-robin. The heath surrounding the swamp is fairly open in places and easy to move through, we searched for half an hour or more before hearing a Southern Scrub-robin after a little bit of quiet searching we managed a couple of quick glimpses of one bird.

In the late afternoon we paid another visit to the Keith Hately Nature Reserve on the off chance Malleefowl would be present. We were extremely pleased to find two Malleefowl working their mound. Unfortunately on seeing us they slowly moved away into the bush. We waited quietly nearby for about five minutes but as they didn't return we decided to leave them to get back to it.

Little Desert Nature Lodge Trip List
Red Gum Swamp Trip List

18/03/2012

On our last morning, before driving home, we went back to the Blue-winged Parrot/Elegant parrot site to have another go at working out the difference between the two species. We spent time sitting quietly in the woodland had lots of great views of parrots and took some photos which eventually confirmed our sighting of Elegant Parrot.

Dahlenbergs Mill 1' Trip List

Last week we were camped on Pheeny's Track in the Murray-Sunset National Park where I made this recording of the sounds of a late summer sunrise. The recording captures the subdued birdsong of the Mallee habit.

In late afternoon the surrounds looked to be almost devoid of birds, with the exception of a handful of Honeyeater species and various Woodswallows. As can be heard from this recording the is actually quite a diversity of species including Shy Heathwren, Southern Scrub Robin, Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater and White-fronted Honeyeater. There is allow moaning sound heard on several occasions that is possibly a Mallee Fowl, however I didn't see the source of the sound so it's a bit of a guess based on suggestions and the recordings which accompany the Morcombe iPhone app.

The sound of dawn bird song recorded amongst the trees lining a small valley on the edge of the Valkathunha-Gammon Ranges National Park, in South Australia. The recording location was close to Nudlamutana Hut where we spent several days on a recent trip.